I saw this incredible piece of art today and I can’t stop staring at it.  Spanish artist, Juan Lucena painted this in honor of all the deceased grandparents of COVID 19 who were not able to say goodbye to their grandchildren.  This has been one of the greatest tragedies of our last 3 months– links between our generations have been severed in isolation.  It’s absolutely heartbreaking to imagine grandparents leaving without a last kiss or hug or the gentle squeeze of a tired hand.

The grandma in the painting turning back reminds me of the oft-repeated scripture, voiced by the prophet Malachi in the last verse of the Old Testament, where he said, “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

There are important links that hold generations together and if those links are broken, our purpose here –to be gathered in families– is lost.  In this beautiful and heart-wrenching artwork I feel the importance of those family ties that bind us to our dear ones.   May we always remember them.

Here is Juan Lucena, the artist: